Hinge filler plate construction for metal doors



Sept. 23, 1958 M. s. DAVID ETAL 2,853,162

HINGE FILLER PLATE CONSTRUCTION FOR "METAL DOORS Filed April 1, 1957 O/4 Z Z p glgl 40 Q v y 5, "f /4 /ZO 5l 50 INVENTOR.

UnitedStates Patent Gilce 2,853,162 Patented Sept. 23, 1958 HINGE FILLERPLATE NSTRUCTION FUR METAL DOORS Michael S. David, 'Grosse Pointe Park,and Benjamin W. Colman, Berkley, Mich., assignors to Copco Steel tEngineering Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of MichiganApplication April 1, 1957, Serial No. 649,991

3 Claims. (Cl. T39-46) This invention relates to a hinge filler plateand more particularly to such a plate .in combination with a metal ldoor construction having a hinge reinforcement suitable for reversemounting of hinges.

Metal door construction vhas problems which are not present in wood doorconstruction in that the metal sections are most often thin andindividually weaker than the comparable sections when made of wood. Thehinge area of a metal door requires considerable strengthening and forthis reason a hinge reinforcement member is welded in at the hingeopening coped in the edge of the door stile.

The hinge reinforcement member is provided with a series of threadedholes so that a hinge for the door may be mounted for either right-handor left-hand swinging. This reversibility feature, which permitsstandardization of doors and frames, lower costs, more facile fieldinstallation and additional advantages, also embodies problems. One ofthese problems is closing the gap between the hinge butt and the side ofthe door at the coped hinge opening.

The instant invention involves a hinge ller plate tha-t overlies a hingebu'tt which in turn overlies the hinge reinyforcement member or support.The ller plate is provided with screw openings so that the threeelements may be combined and held together by mounting screws. Becausethe hinge butt does not extend across the entire opening, the lillerplate is provided with a flange at the plane of the door having anoffset portion adapted to lie within the door shell and project betweenthe hinge reinforcement member and the surface panel of the door orstile, whereby the hinge opening is closed and a finished flushappearance is presented in the hinge area.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a metal doorconstruction in which hinge but-ts and filler plates may be reversiblymounted for rightor left-hand swinging. Another object of the inventionis to provide a ller plate having a single bend at one side edgethereof,

said bend having an oifset portion 'to lie within the door panel orstile at the hinge opening so as to close the open ing at the edge ofthe hinge butt.

These and additional objects of the invention and features ofconstruction will become more apparent from the description given below,in which the terms are used for purposes of description and not oflimitation.

Reference is had to the drawing annexed hereto and forming an integralpart of this disclosure, in which Fig. 1 is a lfront elevational view ona reduced scale of a metal door and frame construction embodying theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view substantially on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the hinge ller plate of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view, on a slightly enlarged scale,showing the combination arrangement of the hinge filler plate, hingebutt and hinge reinforcement member at the hinge opening in the edge of'the metal door.

As shown in the several views of the drawing, the door 10 is hingedlymounted on its frame 12 by 'means of hinges 14.

The door 10 generally is provided with a hinge edge 16 formed of an endface 18 and conjoined side panel elements 20 substantially at rightangles to the end face. At appropriate points the 'hinge edge 16 iscoped out -to provide hinge openings 22.

In the area of each of these openings, ahinge reinforcement member orsupport 24 is welded at its 'end portions 26 to the end 'face 18adjacent the opening 22. The hinge support 24 is narrower than theinside Width of the end face 18 to provide spaces 28 at either side edgeof the hinge support between it and the side panel elements 20. Thehinge support 24, of substantial gage, is provided with a number ofthreaded openings 30 'to receive and engage screws 32 which will anchora butt hinge 14 thereto. The threaded openings 30 are so arranged and insuch number that the butt hinge 14 can be mounted for right-hand orleft-hand swinging of the door. The hinge support 24 is further providedwith its end portions 26 offset forwardly of the plane lof the centralsupport portion 36 so that the butt hinge 14 can be mounted thereonwithout projecting beyond the end face plane of the door edge 16.

The butt hinge 14 comprises generally a pair of butts 38 rotatablymounted about a pintle or pin 40. The bu'tts are provided with openings42 to receive and pass the mounting screws 32 for threading into thehinge support openings 36 therebehind. Generally, the butt screwopenings 42 are spaced apart from each other and in two parallelcolumns. The width of the hinge 'butts 38 is less than the width of theedge 16 of the door, so that there is an open space between the buttedge 43 land the outer plane ofthe door at the edge 16.

The hinge ller plate 44, as shown more clearly in Figs 5 and 6,comprises a front panel 46, a side bend or flange portion 48, and aninwardly offset ilange element 50 conjoining the flange 48 andsubstantially parallel thereto. The corner at the conjunction of thepanel 46 and flange 48 is preferably arranged with the contour of theedge corner at the end face 18 and the side panel elements 20. Ashoulder 51 at the conjunction of the liange 48 and the-offset portion50 iscreated by theoifset, The panel 46 is provided with countersunkopenings 52,

` arranged in the same order as in the hinge butts 38, to

receive the mounting screws 32. The screw openings 52 are countersunkfor a flat-head screw, to provide a gripping or holding-surface for thescrew head to bring the plate 44 into direct bearing upon the hinge butt38 and to hold it thereto.

The metal door components are preferably made of sheet steel, the hingesupport 24 being made of heavy gage strip steel, the hinge of brass orbronze, and the hinge ller plate of sheet steel.

In operation, the hinge filler plate 44 is placed over one of the hingebutts 38 so that the screw openings in both parts overlie each other.The offset ange element 50 is then placed in the space 28 between thehinge support central portion 36 and one of the door side panel elements20 at the coped out hinge opening 22. The offset flange element 50 ispassed into this space 28 until the filler plate shoulder 51 abuts theedge of the door side panel element 20, as shown in Fig. 2. y

The hinge filler plate 44, the hinge butt 38 and the hinge support 24are then secured together, in that relationship, by screws 32. The hingefiller plate panel 46 overlies the hinge butt 38, and covers and shieldsthe outer edge 43 of the hinge butt at the corner of the door edge 16 inthe area of the hinge opening 22 to provide a full closure for theopening.

By virtue of the inventive construction the door 10 may be mounted forrightor left-hand swinging on frame 12. The hinge filler plate offsetelement Si) can pass into space 23 on either side of the hinge support24, between it and the door side elements 20, -to provide a full closurefor the hinge butt edge 43, making the entire construction reversible incharacter.

Having described lthe invention in its simplest terms so as to enablepersons skill-ed in the fart to which the invention pertains to practicethe invention, the features of construction may be changed yand variedin greater or L lesser degree Without departing from the essence of theinvention.

We claim:

l. A hinge filler plate for a metal door construction including areversible hinge support and a hinge, wherein said door has an edgethereof provided with a hinge opening in the form of a coped out slotextending across said edge, said hinge support having a central hingemounting portion adjacent to and spaced from the plane of said edgeinwardly thereof in the area of said slot and having a width less thanthe inside width of said metal door at said edge so Ias to providelongitudinally extending spaces between said hinge support centralportion and said door at said slot, said hinge having a portionmountable directly upon said hinge support central mounting portion insaid slot, said hinge portion having its side edge terminating short ofthe other side of `said door edge, said hinge iiller plate having afront panel of an area substantially equal to the area of said slot andadapted to overlie said hinge portion, said plate having at one sideedge a ange portion directed rearwardly of said door edge at an angle tosaid front panel and terminating in an olset element substantiallyparallel to the plane of said flange portion, said offset element beingdisposed between said door and said hinge support central mountingportion in the area of said slot, said hinge iller plate flange portionabutting said door at said slot to provide a'closure for said slot.

2. A hinge filler plate for a metal door construction including areversible hinge support and a hinge, said door having an edge thereofprovided with a hinge opening extending from one side to the other ofsaid edge, said hinge support being secured to said door edge acrosssaid opening and having a central hinge mounting portion adjacent to andspaced from the plane of i) said edge inwardly thereof, said hingemounting portion having a width less than the inside width of said doorat said edge whereby longitudinally extending spaces 4 between saidhinge mounting portion and said door are provided substantially thelength of said opening, said hinge having a butt portion directlymountable upon said hinge support in the area of said opening andterminating short of the other side of said opening at said door edge,said hinge liller plate having a front panel substantially the fullwidth and length of said opening and adapted to overlie said buttportion, said plate having a flange at one side edge directed rearwardlyof said door edge at an angle to said front panel and terminating in aninwardly offset element, said offset element being disposed in the spacebetween said door and one side of said hinge support central mountingportion in the area of said slot, said plate flange having a shoulderabutting said door at said slot to provide a closure at one sidetherefor, and means to secure said hinge ller plate, hinge butt portionand hinge support central mounting portion together in thatrelationship.

3. In combination, a metal door construction including a reversiblehinge support, a butt hinge and a hinge iiller plate, said metal doorhaving :an edge thereof provided with coped out spaced apart hingeopenings, said hinge support being secured to said door edge inwardlythereof and longitudinally overlying substantially the entire area ofsaid opening and having a central hinge mounting portion spaced from andparallel to said door edge, said hinge mounting portion having a widthless than the inside width of said metal door at said opening whereby toprovide spaces at either side thereof between said door and said hingemounting portion extending the length of said opening, said hinge havinga butt portion overlying said hinge mounting portion in said opening andterminating short of the other side of said opening, said hinge fillerplate having a front panel overlying said butt portion and having at oneside edge thereof a flange rearwardly directly at an angle to said frontpanel and terminating in an inwardly offset element, said offset elementbeing disposed in the space between said metal door and one side of saidhinge mounting portion in said opening, said ange being locatedsubstantially in the plane of the side of said door so as to close saidopening at the side edge of said butt portion, and means to secure saidhinge filler plate front panel, hinge butt portion and hinge supportcentral mounting portion together in that order.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,323,754 Gogay Dec. 2, 1919 1,860,438 Thies May 31, 1932 2,666,945Kelly Jan. 26, 1954

